president obama arrived in new jersey for a closeup look at the damage. the president took a chopper tour with governor christie over devastated areas of the state where superstorm sandy hit with full force. record storm surge took out atlantic city's boardwalk. in the tiny beach community of long port, new jersey, the storm surge brought the beach literally right onto the main street. there are feet and feet of sand piled up as if it were a snowstorm. they came out bikes to see the devastation. >> never saw sand like that. that's due to the storm surge i think. >> reporter: further up the jersey shore this is what's left of the famous boardwalk in seaside heights. the storm lifted homes off their foundations and crumpled up boats. in the town here, fires continued to burn, on a stream of natural gas leaks. in hoboken, residents are trapped in their homes and waiting for rescue. the water has no place to go. >> you know we'll just take time before it eventually works its way out of the area or it has to be pumped out. >> reporter: newark airport reopened.